Chapter 16: You Get What You Came For - No Resolve

WARNING TW/CW! This chapter contains scenes of non-con, attempted rape, gaslighting, murder, nudity, and trauma healing. Reader discretion is advised.

"Dead dove, do not eat" chapter. If you want to skip the more detailed parts look for the horizontal line that appears where it begins and ends.

-o-

Day 7: 1640

Naru

For the next few days, things continued relatively simple. At around noon, Dr. Hiroa would come in and explain the tasks they wanted them to complete, at 1700 they'd run the test and look like they were struggling and hesitant to use their powers, make "some progress" but ultimately fail to do anything more than rattle boxes, shake the room, and cause the electrical working in their equipment to glitch. They'd mark down mentally how many people they saw and what they all did, how many doors they went through, other doors they haven't gone through, and try to map the building. Every night, they'd compare notes and run them by Dr. Hiroa to see if everything matched up.

Something Naru was concerned about was how close and handsy some of these mercenaries were getting every time Mai walked near. She clung to him tightly every time and he could feel her panic and uncomfortableness through their bond. He would try to send out a reassuring pulse, but oftentimes it didn't matter. He had those exact same feelings. One man in particular one night reached out and grabbed her butt while they were walking back to their room. It caused Mai to squeak and jump. Naru had grabbed the man's wrist, brought it high above his head, and dug in his nails. All at once weapons were pointed at him and things grew quiet for a minute.

"Don't ever touch her again, or you will regret it," he had threatened before releasing him.

That night he held Mai tightly as she cried in panic and disgust. Dr. Hiroa had brought tea that night to try to calm them both down. Mai took one look at it, grimaced, and sent out a flicker of her aura at the cup. As Naru drank and was filled with calming energy, he finally realized how Mai made him such amazing tea.

Finally, an hour before their next experiment on their seventh day, Dr. Hiroa received a phone call.

"That was the hospital. Something major has changed with Aya's vital signs. I need to go over there and figure it out. I will be back as soon as I can," he had said before he left.

As they were escorted to the training area though, Naru realized something was wrong. Alaina was there this time and she did not look happy.

"I came to see in person how it was going. I expect results, Dr. Davis. Make it happen," she said.

"Naru, this isn't good. Something is off," Mai said through their bond.

"I know, be vigilant Mai. I'll guide you through this. We're going to have to do more than just shake things around this time. Just stay calm," he reassured.

"The test begins now!" Akio announced loudly.

Just as before everyone cleared the area and went behind the plexiglass. He held Mai closer to him and she gripped his shirt tightly. They both breathed and began maneuvering his PK. The box in front of them began to tremble. Naru felt his spirit leave his body and walk over to the box. He looked back at Mai and gasped in shock. Before, her spiritual aura was a small golden sphere of light, and now he saw it 100 times the size. It practically engulfed the whole room! It pulsed in beauty and was brighter than stars.

He shook his head and focused back on the task. He picked up the box, and with hardly any issue at all, threw it into the targeted wall. The wall shattered as the box became lodged into the wall. He smiled and looked back. Men were beginning to surround the two of their bodies with weapons at the ready. His eyes went wide and his concentration faltered slightly. A tendril of golden light reached out and grabbed his arm and pulled him back into his body.

He found himself back in his body panting and gasping for air. He barely had time to react to being back in his body before he was ripped away from Mai and she was being held at knifepoint by the man who grabbed her the other day. The knife held tight against her throat hard enough to make her bleed.

"Naru!" She screamed.

He struggled against the arms holding him, but it was too much for him to fight. His use of his PK had exhausted him. Three men had him in their grasp and they kicked his knees from behind forcing him to his knees. "Mai!" He struggled against the men holding him. "Let go of me!" He called out, trying to shake off his assailants.

"Gag him!" Alaina hollered.

Before he could realize what was happening, a cloth was wrapped around his mouth and tied off. He glared up at Alaina with hatred. His body was shaking in rage. She walked over to him.

"Do you think this is a fuckin' game?!" She yelled in his face. "Do you think I'm a fuckin' idiot Dr. Davis? If I want killers then I'm going to get killers! I don't want fuckin' movers throwin' boxes around all fuckin' day. Perhaps you two need a little fuckin' incentive." She snapped her fingers.


The man holding Mai at knifepoint began to snicker. Naru looked at Mai and he swore his blood began to boil. The man held the knife to her neck with his right hand and his left began rubbing all over her body. She whimpered as he grabbed her breasts and then trailed down and grabbed between her legs. Mai was sobbing at this point. Naru began struggling harder and began to get some leverage before a fourth man came in and pushed him to the ground. The man grabbed his hair and pulled his head up forcing him to watch. The man holding Mai smiled maliciously at him before licking from her shoulder and up her neck lapping up the blood that trailed down.

"Naru! Please! Don't watch! Please don't!" she pleaded.

"If he doesn't watch then I will have every man in here fuck you raw until he does," Alaina threatened.

'Stop it,' he thought. 'This can't be happening. This can't be! Not to her. Please, not to her!'

Bile rose up in his throat and he felt tears well up in his eyes. The man holding Mai backed up to a wall, groping her while moving. He grabbed her by her throat, picked her up, and threw her to the ground. Mai was coughing in pain trying to scramble away but he was on top of her before she could get far. He held her wrists above her head with his left hand, the knife now digging across her wrists. "I hope you enjoy the show Dr. Davis, I know I sure as fuck will," the man sneered at him. The man reached underneath and pulled up her shirt and started grabbing her breasts. She began kicking and screaming but it was futile. "NARU! HELP ME!"

"Yes Naru," the man sneered. "Help her! Please help her!"

'Stop it!'

He wasn't going to allow this to happen. Not to Mai, not to the person he loved the most. He has to protect her! Naru felt his PK well up inside of him and the bond with Mai was connected even from a long distance away. He could feel her disgust and panic. His PK combined with her spiritual aura and electricity wracked through his body. It built up in intensity and power as he saw the man reach through her sweatpants and start grabbing her between the legs. The bond flashed with pain, rage, disgust, fear, and desperation. "NARU! MAKE IT STOP! SAVE ME, PLEASE!" she screamed through the bond.

'STOP IT!'

He felt his PK flow from him and to her instantly. She kicked him hard enough to get him to release his hand from her wrists. She reached up and grabbed the sides of his head and golden tendriled PK flowed from her fingertips and into the man's head.

The man's screams of agony carried on for a full 10 seconds as the room erupted in light. Finally, his screaming came to an abrupt stop as the light reached its peak. The room fell silent as things stopped and the light disappeared. The man's eyes were burned out of their sockets, his face was smoking with parts of it dripping off, and his skin blistered and burned red. He collapsed to the side as Mai scuttled away panting and gasping. Her hands reached for her throat to stop the bleeding. Tears continued to flow down her face as she stared at the man who stared with gaping sockets right at her.

Clapping finally broke the silence. It was Alaina. "Well done girlie," she said walking to the dead man on the floor. She examined his body. "Quick! Get a measurement from the doctor to him. We can use the data to measure distance and use that in their portfolio at the auction." A man came forward with a measuring tape. The end was given to one of the men holding him down and dragged to the dead body. "Let's see, complete obliteration of a target from…23 yards! We'll stretch that to 25. Doesn't fuckin' matter," Alaina said.

Alaina walked over to Mai who was shaking on the floor staring at the man. "Well done indeed. You're a killer now. How does it feel?" she asked.

Mai looked at her. "I-I-I'm not!" she stammered. "H-He tried t-to…h-h-he-!"

"Oh self-defense won't work in this case sweetie," Alaina said kneeling in front of Mai. "I saw the hatred in your eyes; you burnt him to a crisp, you did! You hated him…you wanted him dead. That makes you a killer. A murderer…." she whispered.

"DON'T LISTEN TO HER!" Naru shouted through their bond. Mai glanced at him. "She's lying Mai! Listen to me Mai, you did what you had to. I GAVE YOU THAT POWER TO SAVE YOU! Don't listen to her!"

Alaina reached out and touched Mai's cheek. Mai flinched back. "You did me a favor, you know. He was really fuckin' annoying. You murdered an absolute idiot. But it was still murder missie. Intent matters you know, and I saw murderous intent in your eyes. You have great potential. You'll make my buyers very happy."

Mai looked up and glared at Alaina. "You don't know anything about intent! I intended to protect Oliver! I intended to survive without being raped! If that means I have to go through everyone here to do so, then I will! The only murderer here is you!" Mai screamed at Alaina. She was crying and trembling but holding strong.

A loud 'slap!' reverberated off the walls of the room as Mai screeched. Mai held her cheek as Alaina's hand went to the side. She let go and put pressure back on her throat. "You will watch your tongue there, or I'll have it cut from you instead." Alaina got up from the floor. "Go clean yourself up girlie. You look ridiculous. He barely even touched ya' bits. I need to have a talk wit' your boss here," she said, turning to Naru.


Two men grabbed Mai and pulled her off the ground. They all but dragged her out of the room. When she was gone Alaina snapped her fingers and the gag was removed from his mouth.

"You bitch, I'll kill you!" he growled in English.

"Save it, Doctor. You won't do shit," she said. "I expect more of those results from now on. If not I won't hold back the rest of these men from doin' a fuckin' train on ya' girlfriend."

Naru was disgusted and enraged. They will need to speed up their plan of escape. He won't let them use Mai and him like this. All he wanted right now was to be with Mai. To treat her wounds. To hold her and tell her everything was going to be OK. He waited patiently.

"Do better tomorrow. This isn't a fuckin' game Oliver. And now I know you two are very capable of killin'. I want to see just how powerful you and ya' girlfriend really are," she said and walked out of the room.

The men picked him up and he was dragged back to their room. He was thrown in and he fell to the ground. The sound of the door closing told him that they were alone now. He looked around desperately for Mai. He heard the sound of running water from the bathroom. He saw a trail of clothes leading to the bathroom and the sound of muffled crying got more apparent when he got closer.

"Mai?" he asked quietly as he walked around the corner. His heart broke at the sight.

Mai was naked and sitting under the hot running water of a shower. She was curled up on herself holding her legs with her arms and her head down so he couldn't see her face. The hot water began turning her skin red from the heat but she didn't even seem to notice it.

"Mai?" he asked again as he came in.

"I can't…" she whispered.

"You can't, what?" he asked, stepping closer.

"I feel dirty, but I…I can't look at myself to clean up. I just can't…it hurts!" she sobbed.

"Mai," he whispered, tears finally coming down his face. He took off his shirt and set it down on the floor. He walked over to Mai and sat down next to her under the water. He put an arm over her shoulder and she fell into his lap. The sound of the running water and her sobbing were the only sounds heard in the room. He held her in his arms as they both cried through everything.

"I can't look at myself," she whispered. "I want to get clean, but I can't do it!"

His heart broke for her and he had an impulsive idea. "I will," he whispered. "You don't need to," he reached over and grabbed a washcloth nearby. He sat her up and got in front of her. She looked at him with desperation. He grabbed a small bottle of soap nearby and rubbed it into the washcloth. "Close your eyes, Mai," he whispered. She whimpered but did as he said.

There was nothing sexual in the way that he touched her. Nothing sexual in the way that he moved the washcloth across her skin. She revealed herself completely, but he took no notice of anything because this was not about him. He was concerned with only her mental well-being. He took careful consideration as he moved across her chest and neck. The scar there was already healing from her aura. He made sure not to linger longer than he should to get the job done. He got the dirt off of her back and neck and moved down her sides. He looked at her arms and hands and saw new Lichtenberg scars down her arms and at her fingertips. The cuts on her wrists were also healing. These scars were different as they were all healed again with a shimmer of gold. It reminded him of Kintsugi pottery.

He gently pulled her up off the ground. "Keep your eyes closed," he whispered again. He kneeled down and moved the washcloth across her legs and down to her feet. He felt her put her hands on his shoulders to stabilize herself. He stood back up and brought the washcloth between her legs. He heard her breath hitch and gasp lightly. Again, nothing about this was sexual, only loving and comforting.

"Oliver…" she whispered.

"I've got you, Mai. It's ok now. Be with me, Mai. Not back there, with me now," he whispered gently in her ear.

She whimpered and wrapped her arms around him. He held her and patted her head and back. He rocked with her there for a few minutes. He turned off the water and went to grab a towel. He wiped her face and hair dry before wrapping it around her body. He picked her up in both arms and carried her over to the bed. He laid her down before going back to the bathroom. He changed out of his wet pants for the sweatpants he had gotten. He grabbed his shirt from off the ground and carried it over to Mai. She hadn't moved from where he had put her and her eyes were still closed. He put his black button-up shirt around her and began to button it up. He grabbed a new pair of underwear for her and slipped it on her ankles. He brought it up her legs and past her knees. "Lift your hips, Mai," he requested. She did and he slipped them on the rest of the way. He took away the towel and covered her up with the blanket from the bed.

"Open your eyes love," he whispered.

She did and he gasped. Her eyes were no longer brown, but shining golden. He could feel waves of energy radiating off of her. He reached out through their bond and felt overwhelmed by feelings of love and safety.

"Oliver…Naru…my protector," she whispered through the bond.

It was too much. Too much! He fell to his knees beside her. "MAI!" he cried out. He pulled her close to him. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" he started sobbing. "Never again, love, never again!"

Golden light filled his soul and he embraced it gladly. He opened his eyes and realized he was in the astral plane with Mai's and Gene's spirits. He was holding onto Mai's spirit like she would drift away. Gene kneeled down and pulled both of them into an embrace against him. They were all crying at this point.

"Naru! Please!" Mai sobbed.

"I'm here Mai, I'm here," he said, rocking back and forth.

"Noll…Mai…" Gene whispered.

"Gene," Naru said, "I can't let them use us like that again. I couldn't protect her! I can't go through that again! I can't let them-" he choked in his own words.

"Naru, you saved me again with your PK," Mai said looking at him.

"It's becoming more than that actually," Gene said.

They both looked at him. "What do you mean?" Naru asked.

"Mai's spiritual aura is being more than enhanced by your PK, it's amplifying it to astronomical proportions. Noll, you and I were trained by Madoka to reign in our feelings and emotions while using this power. The bond that you two have made is doing more than anything you and I have ever done before. If left untrained and fueled by these emotions, Mai's own power could destroy her," Gene explained.

"What?" Mai said, astonished. "How so?"

Gene said, looking at her, "Mai, I've told you before that if you lose sight of your own spirit and lose your grip on reality, if you give up and give in to those negative emotions, you'd be lost forever. A shell of a body, and nothing more."

"Gene…you saw what they did to me right? What they tried to do?" She asked.

"Yes I did," Gene said sadly.

"If they do that or more again, I'm not sure if I can keep sight of myself," Mai admitted.

Naru held Mai tighter. "Please don't! I can't lose you again Mai. I can't!" He pleaded through the bond. "I will protect you. I swear!" He vowed.

"I will too, Mai," Gene said. "It won't be easy, but I will extend my powers beyond the astral plane and protect you."

Mai smiled. "I must have done something good in life to get the protection of the famous Davis twins," she said hopefully.

"Only you being you Mai," Naru said smiling.

"Being able to stand being in the presence of this idiot scientist over here for a long period of time is quite a feat," Gene joked while rubbing Naru's hair. Naru huffed indignantly but smiled nonetheless. "Keep good care of my brother, Mai. He can do some stupid things when it comes to the people he loves."

Mai smiled up at Naru. "I will."

"And Noll," Naru looked up at his brother. "I'm so happy for you. You've got someone who really loves and cares about you. Protect her. Teach her what Madoka taught us. Don't let her light go out."

Naru looked at Mai. "Always," he said.

With that, their world turned white and Naru and Mai were back in the real world, holding each other.